Suggested dosage rates of melarsoprol in the treatment of mice experimentally infected with Trypanosoma brucei gambiense.

One group of BALB/c mice infected with a highly virulent strain of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense were treated intraperitoneally with three series of three injections (each injection of 10 mg/kg) of Mel-B separated by seven days of rest, while a second group was treated once by a single injection All the Mel-B treated mice in both experiments were negative for parasites when examined using either the wet blood film or buffy coat methods, but were intermittently PCR positive during the sampling period. We encourage the use of a repeat negative PCR test over a one month period in combination with corroborative clinical and parasitological investigation to be suggestive of cure in experimental animals previously infected with trypanosomosis. In view of the exorbitant costs of Mel-B and its extreme toxicity, we recommend that Mel-B be given as one course of two injections (each equivalent to 10 mg/kg) separated by 2 d of rest in experimentally infected rodent models.

Towards developing a diagnostic regimen for the treatment follow-up of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense.

BALB/c mice infected with a high virulent strain of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense IL3707 were treated intraperitoneally (i.p.) with either Melarsoprol (Mel-B) or PSG(+) buffer as controls.

The application of molecular biological tools to epidemiology of African trypanosomosis.

Difficulties have often been encountered in the field surveys due to a lack of definitive morphological characters, particularly where mixed infections are expected. To address this problem, some molecular biological techniques such as DNA probe hybridization, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), analyses of ribosomal DNA, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), have been applied to the analysis of field samples collected during epidemiological surveys of African trypanosomosis. Concurrent natural infection of different individual tsetse flies and mammalian hosts with different species of the trypanosomes have been demonstrated, through the use of a combination of specific DNA probe hybridization and the PCR.

Interleukin 4 is a crucial cytokine in controlling Trypanosoma brucei gambiense infection in mice.

The role of interleukin 4 (IL-4) was studied in relation to host defense during Trypanosoma brucei gambiense IL3253 (IL3253) infection in mice. BALB/c/A-+/+ (BALB/c), BALB/c/A-nu/nu (nude) and C.B-17/Icr-scid/scid (SCID) mice were infected intraperitoneally with 5 x 10(3) bloodstream forms (BSFs) of the trypanosome.

Susceptibility of severe combined immuno-deficient (SCID) mice to Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and T. b. rhodesiense.

Susceptibility of severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice to 7 isolates of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and 2 isolates of T. b. rhodesiense was examined in terms of their infectivity, course of parasitaemia, packed cell volume (PCV) and survival period in comparison with that of normal immunocompetent (BALB/c) mice.